Fragile Ecosystems

The Daintree Rainforest by Thusitha

Fragile Ecosystems

The Daintree Rainforest by Thusitha

Introduction

The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest. It was named after Richard Daintree. In 1877 gold and tin were discovered it has caused problems because miners have somewhere to dig. In the Daintree Rainforest there is a tribe named the Kaku Yalanji tribe. The Kaku Yalanji tribe were aboriginal people.The layers of the rainforest trees from top to bottom is the emergent layer, the canopy layer, the understory layer and the forest floor layer.

Location

The address of the Daintree Rainforest is: 2333, Cape Tribulation Rd, Cape Tribulation 4873 Australia. The number is {07} 4098 9126. The Daintree Rainforest is located north of Cairns in tropical North Queensland. It is the world's oldest and most beautiful rainforest in Australia.

Flora

There are many different types of flora in the Daintree Rainforest. For example there are flowers called Faeries Baskets which look like baskets but have patches of dark red on them. There are trees called Scarlet Beans that are trees without leaves but they have big white flowers planted around the trees. The Spinning Top Fungus is easy to recognise because they look like spinning tops but they are fungus. There are even more types of flora like ferns, conifers, cycads and palms.

Faeries Baskets

Scarlet Beans

Spinning Top Fungus

Faeries Baskets

Scarlet Beans

Spinning Top Fungus

Fauna

There are many different species of fauna like flora only it has to do with animals. There are mammals such as the tree kangaroos, bats and the tropical bettongs. Birds are also found like the endangered bird the cassowary, forest kingfishers and Ulysses butterflies. Insects are common like spiders including the new Daintree spider in a nice bright green colour. Reptiles can be found snakes, crocodiles, geckos, lizards and the Amethystine Python with nice orange scales. Obviously there are amphibians such as the poison dart frog and the white lipped tree frog.

Cassowary

Crocodile

Ulysses Butterfly

Cassowary

Crocodile

Ulysses Butterfly

Tourism

Tourism is mostly why people go to the Daintree Rainforest. People experience adventure like wildlife experience, a day tour around the Daintree Rainforest and going to the Great Barrier Reef which is close by. People have extreme fun going hiking and going for bird watching. Everyone will get to learn about the Aboriginal culture and have fun doing water sports. You can take cultural experience like eating new food, playing new games and learning new things to enjoy. Fishing tours can be taken to fish and do some fishing. People enjoy overnight tours around the Daintree Rainforest seeing nocturnal animals.

Threats and Dangers

Sadly not everything can be perfect at the Daintree Rainforest. There can always be threats that destroy the animals habitat. Climate change is a really big issue. When it is cold some plants and animals may die just like when it is hot. Deforestation is immense issue because farmers burn down the rainforest so they can clear land for more farming. Roads are being built through the Daintree Rainforest which is destroying animal's habitat. People don't realise that they are not caring for the animals but themselves by building roads and houses. Another problem is that since gold and tin were discovered in 1877 the miners have to extract minerals. If these issues continue then in the future there will not be a Daintree Rainforest.

Interesting facts

Our Daintree Rainforest is about 135 million years old.

The Daintree Rainforest is the largest rainforest in Australia and it only covers 0.2% of Australia's landmass.

The rainforest is home to about 50% of the world's animal and plant life.